In Short : Karnataka’s Energy Department has hired an external agency to study and forecast power generation. This initiative aims to enhance the state’s energy planning, ensuring a reliable supply and better management of resources to meet future demand.
In Detail : A six-month pilot study is being undertaken, and the exercise started on July 11. The study is being done at the State Load Dispatch Centre.
BENGALURU : The state energy department is now using artificial intelligence machine learning tool to understand power demand, save power, channel excess power and make profits.
However, this move has not gone down well with some officials in the department and with experts. They criticise it and state: “Despite the presence of sufficient qualified staffers and government agencies, the government is hiring an external agency that is using AI tools, which makes little or no sense.”
Explaining the new project, Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) Managing Director Pankaj Kumar Pandey said on Tuesday that there are many factors that effect power demand and supply, including weather, cropping patterns, and generation, especially from renewable energy sources. To calculate all this and predict models for power purchase and sales at the right time, the government has roped in Quenext agency.
A six-month pilot study is being undertaken, and the exercise started on July 11. The study is being done at the State Load Dispatch Centre. The process of using AI is not new; it is being tried in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
“The aim of using AI is to increase profits by selling power at the right time on the grid, generating power wisely, and send power to places where demand is high. There are around 100- 120 data sets on various online platforms which are being used in analysing and forecasting power savings for the future,” Pandey said.
Explaining further, energy department minister KJ George said, the aim of using AI is to save power and earn more. The company will be paid based on the savings made by the department, if there are no savings, the company will not be paid. The maximum the company will be paid is Rs three crore. The system will also help in better prediction of loads, including solar and wind.
When questioned on why the agency was hired, which is already under litigation in other states, George said, he was not aware and that it will be looked into.
However, officials wondered about the need for using AI.
“There are already set agencies to study power, for generation, dispatch, and monitoring, hiring another agency only means adding more hands and creating more confusion. There is no need.”
Energy department expert, M G Prabhakar, said the role of agencies is generation, distribution, and transmission. They are all licenced companies under the Energy Act, and the competent authority to decide on profits and take action is the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission.
